Thursday, February 16, 2012

You Really Want To Have A Culture War?

What is going on with the Republican Party? Sure, the House is filled with Tea Party extremists, the base has supported (and continues to support) some pretty wacky presidential hopefuls, and its leaders are far more concerned with toppling Obama than governing. But they used to be more politically astute in their choice of wedge issues. Now it seems they've completely lost their moorings with their aggressive and quite unpopular assault on contraceptive coverage.

As I wrote about earlier (see Occupy the Bedroom), Republicans are pushing for an amendment to the Affordable Care Act that would allow employers to deny coverage not just for contraception but for any treatment or any condition they claimed was contrary to their religious beliefs.

They are enthusiastically, if transparently, framing their attack on women's health, the right to privacy and health care reform as an issue of religious freedom. Hence, the hearing today before a House Committee on the following question: “Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” The hearing, consisting of a panel of eight men, is skewed so that only those who agree with the Republican position will be heard from. But are they really fooling anyone?

It is one thing for the far right to be agitating for this kind of culture war, but purportedly moderate Republicans are being drawn in too. Maybe, there just aren't any more moderates in the Republican Party.

As this piece in the New York Times suggests, it is all about firing up the base, which has been somewhat lackluster in the wake of their uninspiring presidential candidates, and once again going after Obamacare:

Major evangelical groups that openly opposed Mr. Obama and
his health care plan in the past see this as a new affront and a new
opportunity for attack.
The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents
thousands of churches in 40 denominations, “will be working vigorously”
against the mandate, said Galen Carey, the association’s vice president
for government relations — lending substance to the statement last week
by Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a Baptist minister,
that “we are all Catholics now.”
Evangelical leaders say they would be outraged by the
mandate in any case, but many also believe that it will bring them
political gains. [Ralph] Reed, the conservative strategist, said that even
if a majority of Americans expressed general support for requiring
contraceptive coverage — and even if, as he believes, the economy
remained the primary issue — getting conservative and religious voters
more fired up could make a difference.

Democrats, as always, should follow Elizabeth Warren's lead and take on the Republicans. She unapologetically attacked her Senate opponent, Scott Brown, for supporting the proposed amendment which she framed as "an extreme attack on every one of us”:

It opens
the door to outright discrimination. It would let insurance companies
and corporations cut off pregnant women, overweight guys, older
Americans, or anyone — because some executive claims it’s part of his
moral code. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but I don’t want to take the
chance.

Warren, quite correctly, argues that this issue must be viewed through the prism of economics:

This election is about whose side you stand on. Here’s
an example of giving power to insurance companies and corporations to
undercut basic health care coverage. I’m going to fight for families to
keep that coverage. The economics around health care are huge for
families.

It has long been conventional wisdom that the culture wars help Republicans and drive a wedge between so-called Independents and Democratic "elites." If the Democrats fight back, it won't work this time.

2
comments:

E. Warren stands in stark contrast to just about every GOP candidate in the pool. Issa's handling of his hearing on this matter today in congress is a perfect example how truly off in the weeds the unhinged GOP Clown Car has rolled.